Thoughts from the front

Another Birthday Passes

2007-03-27T09:39:00.000+03:00

Its not often I have been outside the States when my birthday rolls around. I was suppose to be back home by then (did I mention that yet?) and it passed with very little fanfare. I received cards and emails and letters and such as well as a couple of packages, but all in all it was very uneventful and if I didn't mention it no one said anything. This is true about most of the guys here. I asked if I could go to Qatar on pass but the dates for March had already been handed out. That's fine since my civilians clothes arrived the day after I would have left.
The only real special "event" that happened was having the praise and worship band telling announcing my birthday to everyone in chapel service, note to self; telling the Chaplain today is your birthday ensures everyone will sing happy birthday. I was a bit embarrassing but it was nice to be remembered here. After service I went back to my room and slept since I had a 12 hour shift later. I enjoyed some very healthy Chicken wings and cheese sticks as well as a bowl of ice cream in the chow hall and around midnight or so I had a pizza. Nothing like eating oh so healthy on ones birthday. It was all so good. I've had about dozen or guys in my unit wish me happy birthday as well.
So how does it feel to be thirty-one? I really don't feel any different now than I did when I hit 25. The only time I fell old is when I start talking to some of the guys in my unit and they talk about turning 20 or 21 while we are here, there are few of us in the over in this unit. The other time I feel old is when I do a PT test and run two miles, its either being old or out of shape.
I'm looking forward to next year when Iraq is once again half a world away and I am looking into my wife's eyes over dinner. Oh what joy that will be!

A Big Change

2007-02-11T20:31:00.000+03:00

I have decided to change my format on this blog. I get very upset and riled up and I blog about it. Reading my blog you may think I'm angry all the time. I am frustrated with congress not coming up with a better strategy for this war. Look, as many of you know, I've been here in Iraq for almost a year and I still have about six more months in Iraq because of the surge. We the soldiers do not need a vote by congress on whether or not they support the war, we need a plan. We are following Bush's plan because they dont have one. Like I have ranted and raved about for months, either come up with your own strategy or shut up. To all the Congressmen running for President I want you all to know that I dont trust a single one of you. Your agenda is to further your own political career and your use of anyone in the military to further your cause is despicable and dishonest. As a closing remark on this issue before I go onto far greater and more important things I plan to vote for Dr. Michael Savage in 2008! He is mulling over running and if he does, and I hope he does run, I will vote for him. If he doesnt run I will still vote for him!
With that said, lets move on to more pressing matters like Pouncy Kitty! I have a little friend, a beanie baby, who has been deployed with me for this entire time. Pouncy has had several adventures, like pouncing Superman, pulling guard duty in a tower, rooting on the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. He also has taken a trip to Baghdad and was featured in his own dramatic photo adventure "Pouncy's adventure home," when I went on leave. There are so many fun things you can do with a sidekick, especially if you really dont care if you are laughed at or laughed with. Well last night Pouncy was kitty napped and taken to the air force side of the base where he was forced into "the wet." He says this blue stuff was smeared on him and he was put under a water fall. the the lights went out and he was spun around for awhile. Cold and tired his kitty napper moved him to another area and he was tossed and thrown about in hot dankness. He says something happened because usually he can use his "darkternal vision" to see but alas it was useless in this cave. (Yes darktenal is a word, not only did I invent it I used it in a sentence. No, its not Scrabble legal but then again Liz and I dont play Scrabble anyway). He was overjoyed when I rescued him from the hot dark cave and he noticed that he smells better now too, not like Iraq but like clean. Did you have any idea that washing a blanket, sheets and a stuffed animal could be so exciting? Yes I have been here to long but I'm no longer focusing on the news, cuz it just angers me. Instead I will focus on what else is happening to me these days. I leave you with this piece of advice when restarting a work out regiment, especially a "full body workout," just because you use to do calf raisers 25 reps 4 times at 395 four months ago doesnt mean you should start out at 295 pounds 25 times. Dont forget you still need to walk the next day!

The will and resolve to win

2007-02-02T18:46:00.000+03:00

With everything that is going on in the United States, Florida was hit by a tornado this morning. Boston thought it was under a possible terror threat thanks to Ted Turner and the stupid cartoon network. Not to mention the New York Times had the audacity to show pictures and the video of a fellow soldier being shot and killed, they are sorry they hurt the feelings of this soldier’s family. I’m sick and tired of the media rooting for defeat in Iraq as they did with the Korea Conflict and the Vietnam War. The tide is turning on two fronts, the frontlines here in Iraq as well as the home front.
What do I mean? Well newsflash the bad guys are fleeing Baghdad because here come more troops to root out the terrorists, THEY ARE FLEEING! Why? Because they know we will defeat them. The Iraqis, defeated 250 Shiite terrorist in an all day conflict. Yes they called in American reinforcements but that’s what you do in war, use every resource you have to defeat the enemy. Two Americans lost their lives, verses 250 bad guys. In the “bloody math of war” the ratio was 1:125! One American per 125 bad guys, that’s a huge victory. Another news flash we are winning over here! Hello where is that coverage on CNN, Fox, ABC, NBC, MSNBC, New York Times, LA Times and all of the rest of the media that is bent on the United States military losing this war!
Instead its more doom and gloom on how poor the Iraqis have been trained and how poor security is in Iraq. So basically the media is saying that not only are the United States soldiers over here incompetent of fighting this war, we are also so incompetent that we cant even train Iraq soldiers and police on how to do our job. Is that what you are telling the American people? That Senator Kerry was right that we soldiers, many of whom are college graduates and many more will be once we get done with this two years of hell are to stupid and incompetent to train someone to do our job? That is almost as insulting as CNN and the NY Times showing video of snipers killing my comrades. Its sick!
The media tells us the reason the republicans lost so many seats in congress is because of the war. They show the anti-war protesters how defamed the nations capital by spray painting on the steps, as the right-minded people. Do the peace activists really think that Iraq is going to become a peaceful nation after we leave and Iran and Syria come in and try to take over so they can use Iraq as a terrorist training ground? When will American wake up? Do we need to be attacked on American soil again before we have the will and resolve to defeat evil? What would have happened if the “greatest generation” would have said oh the cost is to high. To many lives are being lost in Europe and besides this is something Europe needs to deal with. We need to talk to Mr. Hitler and find out why he hates the Jews and what we can do to maybe help stop the holocaust. They would not have been the greatest generation. Now their children of that generation are in power and they don’t have the same resolve their parents did.
They decided to undermine the Korean conflict and Vietnam war. My father in law, who I love and respect dearly, and his generation should have come home to a heroes welcome instead they were called baby killers, they were spit on, and discriminated against when they tried to get jobs. They were disgraced terribly and I fear that the way the media and other are portraying how awful this war is going, it will not be long until the vets of Iraq, will be treated the exact same way.

Goals for this extention

2007-01-17T02:34:00.000+03:00

As you all are aware by now, my tour in Iraq has been extended, along with the rest of the MN National Guard. I am a little down as we were around two months away from getting out of here. We were all very disappointed with a certain person in the Pentagon who decided, for political reasons I'm sure, that it was more important to contact the media and break the story to them before anything was said to a single soldier. The units morale took a big hit because we all found out through worried family members asking us "what do you mean your getting extended?" To which our response was, what are you talking about? We finally get the official word today that we are being extended and we will be here until the beginning of August at the latest. There is talk of leave being available as well as a four day pass.
Many of my fellow soldiers have decided that this news calls for a new toy or something to help us cope with the fact that we are going to be here about another seven months or so. I'm no different; I enrolled to retake two classes from Northwestern College that I failed. I could most certainly have bought a PlayStation 2 and sat in my room and played baseball all day. This idea had crossed my mind when I was home during Christmas. I just no longer have it in me to just sit in front of the TV all day and play a game, especially when I stare at a computer screen when I am at work anyway.
My motivation and morale are low (which is not to be confuse that with my morals), as is everyone else’s. It’s hard if not impossible not to feel a little depressed. But here is my fix and what I have decided to do; first is to go work out everyday but Sunday. My goal in the next six months is to lose thirty pounds and come home with “six pack abs.” A six pack is a lot lighter than this “party ball keg” I’m dragging around right now. I will require a lot of work, eating healthy as well as commitment and dedication.
Another goal is to read and blog thru the Bible from Genesis to Revelation in the time left. I also want to pass my to courses, New Testament Archeology and Church History with no lower than a B, an A is what I am shooting for though. By doing these I hope to deepen my relationship with God and strengthen my walk with God as it has slipped a bit over the past three and half months. I must spend time daily reading the Word of God, (the Bible) and spend time every day in prayer, at the very least once a day.
My language needs to change as well as my attitude. I have six months to make this transformation and build a more solid foundation of faith. (As I write this I just ripped open a small bag of candy, tisk, tisk, tisk, I say. That’s what I have to stop, especially since I have a good dinner waiting to be heated up. Like I said, I must work on my self discipline.

Official sponsor?

2007-01-13T01:11:00.000+03:00

I have been informed that my Brigades official sponsor for this tour is

Snickers

Not going anywhere for a while?

OPSEC

2007-01-12T03:46:00.000+03:00

On AFN (Armed Force Network) we are not shown commercials like the ones back home. We are bombarded by a few major themes. One is don’t drink and drive, which in a war zone where there is no alcohol, this is totally unnecessary. Another encourages troops to stop using tobacco. If the writers of these “commercials” were in Iraq and went thought half of what some of these guys do, they would see how asinine these are. I don’t smoke, but I know that the stress of being over here gets to guys (and gals too) and they smoke. When they get home some will stop and others won’t. I admit I smoke from time to time but I hate the taste. Sometimes it does clams the nerves just a bit. I’m still trying to find a good cigar over here.
The main thing that is preached to us is operation security aka OPSEC. In World War 1 or 2 the phrase loose lips sink ship came about. They were told to watch what they say. Today we are told to watch what we say, email, post on blogs or myspace, yet the press breaks OPSEC daily and has no problem telling the world what’s going on. The New York Times leaks classified documents and “breaks” the story about wire tapping and tells everyone how we are going after the terrorists. So we have to find a new way to get information vital to the war or terrorism.
Today I was told that my brigade is getting extended until July. That doesn’t bother me, what does is the way I found out. It would have been nice for soldiers to be told BY THEIR CHAIN OF COMMAND instead of a newspaper blindsiding the troops and their families.
Our missions here are hard enough without them being compromised because a soldier is more worried about how his/her family is instead of focusing on the mission. When you are worried about your family your head is not in the game. However this is anything but a game because our lives are at stake.
This is going to fall on the deaf ears of the press but just because you know something doesn’t mean you should leak it! Stop putting our lives in more jeopardy then they already are. Stop printing things that are considered OPSEC, the hell with your freedom of the press. It’s my ass thats's on the line not yours!

Happy New Year

2007-01-02T04:59:00.000+03:00

Well I have been enjoying my leave over Christmas and New Years, seeing my wife as well as both of our families. Its been nice just being "normal," even if it is only for a few more days. I have decided to post my resolutions here and I wanted to also remind you to check out the new blog as well.
My resolutions are as follows:
1. Read through the entire Bible this year
2. Read 12 books
3. Journal and blog about what I am reading in the Bible and the books
4. Change my diet and exercise so I will lose 25 pounds my years end.
5. Come home in one piece in the next few months

There they are folks. Have a good new year and set your own resolutions.
Dont forget to check out the new blog where I will be blogging about false teachings currently invading the church, theology, and what I am reading as well as what is playing in my iPod.

Happy New Year!

Update

2006-12-09T09:00:00.000+03:00

The explosions were a controled detenation not an incoming fire attack. I am safe and fine, a little edgy but I've also been up for nearly 21 straight hours. Not to mention the six cans of pop in that time, so I might be a little overly excitible. Some people would refer to that as an addiction, I on the other hand would like to call it...well an addiction. Oh well. I have some down time today so I will atleast be able to recover a bit before church services tomorrow morning. Nothing worse than for a member of the worship team who sits in the front row to fall asleep durning the message, I go to a contemporary service so its not a "sermon," its a message.
Anyway, I have also decided that at the first if the year I am going to fire up my old blog Bloodstainsoul. There I will be sharing my New Years Resolutions as well as blogging on topics cuoncerning Christianity, as well as my daily learnings as I read the entire Bible in 2007. I will also be informing you about some false teachers or teaching thats being passed off as Christian church. So thats what you have to look forward too. I will still post here as well on, politics, media, and maybe some of my experiences. A link will be add to this a little later so you can get to my Bloodstainsoul blog once its back up.
Later

Do you really know the enemy

2006-12-09T08:07:00.000+03:00

I got listen to Michael Savage's live show this morning and I was very bothered by what I heard and what I also read. Go to his site www.MichaelSavage.com and read the headlines he has. The FBI has stopped a terrorist attck from happening in Rockford,Ill, which is about 90 miles northwest of Chicago. This man planned to blow up trash cans in a mall on the 22nd. These trash cans would become sharpnel and he hoped to hurt as many people as posible on one of the last days of Christmas shopping. After this attack he was hoping to then lie in wait and attack JEWS as they went to the synogogue! I looked at all the news reports so far and not one of them have said that he wanted to "shank" Jews with a steak knife.
Read your local newspaper, where do they place this article? Is stopping this terrorist attack worthy of the front page on your local paper? Read the article, does it mention his desire to kill Jews? This man wanted to commit a hate crime, is that mentioned at all? I ask because I am not going to get to see a paper until sometime this afternoon or evening.
In a related story, Hammas has said that they will never recognise Israel. In case you have not figured this out yet, Muslims all around the world hate Jews. They hate them. The Iranian President hates them and wants to drive them into the sea. Hammas and Hezbollah both hate them, they went to war with them this summer. The UN doesnt care about the Jews, they have failed to protect them time and time again. I have spoke with a few Iraqis and they hate them. Muslims degin the holocost even happened. How sick is that? This is the face of our enemy. They hate the Jews. You may ask yourself why am I getting so worked up over this, because once the Jews are out of the way they will turn to the Christians! Its that simple. Why do you think they hate America? Why do you think they call the United States "the great Satin?" Not because of our forigen policies, not because we are here in Iraq, its because the Quran says to kill the infidal. This is not a peaceful religion, if it were they would condem the terrorist. They dont and they never will.
This is our enemy and for some reason the media refuses to tell you the whole truth about them. I must end as we are getting mortered. More later

War is never easy

2006-12-03T15:14:00.000+03:00

This war is unlike an America has ever fought. In previous wars we knew who are enemies were. They wore uniforms, as we do. They fought according to the rules of war as defined in the Geneva Convention. Previous wars were conventional. This war is anything but. There are no “frontline” and our enemy hides among the people who protect them, after all, they are family. The Iraqi police protect their own interests; sometimes turning a blind eye to the terrorists. We soldiers have not failed to train them adequately; rather it is they who put loyalty to their tribe above all things. That is their culture, family and tribe ahead of all.
I’m not an expert on the history of Vietnam, but I know that the United States had actually won that war. However, the media then, as now, turned the publics’ sentiment and the heroes of that war were vilified. They were spit upon, discriminated against and even rejected by the nation they served to protect.
Today’s media is not that different. They report daily body counts of dead civilians, as if it were a true indication on how the war is proceeding. They fail to report and flat out ignore the good we things we do, focusing solely on the bad. The schools we help, the villages and towns that we are rebuilding, go widely unnoticed. The focus is on the terrible state of Baghdad and the Anbar providence, as if that was the whole of Iraq. They judge soldiers who, in the heat of battle, make decisions and give no context to the video the show. They show young men and women, my brother and sisters in arms, being killed by snipers with cold and uncaring commentary. They choose what to tell you and what not too. They make the news, they sway sentiment, and they always put their bias ahead of their integrity. It’s sad.
They don’t tell you that the vast majority of Iraqis are glad we are here. These people have more faith in us than their government, their Army or the police force. They know if we leave their will be a civil war that will spill in Iran, Syria, and other parts of the Middle East. This civil war will not stop until the two sects of Islam quit killing each other. Then they will rally around each other because of their intense hatred of Israel, Europe, and the United State. Have you so quickly forgotten what they did to the USS Cole, the World Trade Center on September 11th? The bombings in Madrid? This war, like World War I, World War II, Vietnam, Korea, is not going to be a short war. They never are. We must continue this fight, make the necessary adjustment in strategy, build some alliances, but we must not and cannot just quit. Yes, over 3000 soldiers have died thus far, how many died in WWI…WWII…Vietnam…Korea. Is that what determines whether we continue fight? How many died September 11th?
What if “the greatest generation” would have looked at the cost and said, “Lets redeploy our troops. We just need to talk with Mr. Hitler, use diplomacy and try to understand why he hates the Jews so much. We need to talk to Japan and ask them why the bombed Pearl Harbor. We need to understand their feelings; this is Europe’s war after all.” That’s nonsense. Hitler had to be stopped. These terrorist, the Taliban, Al-Quida, Hammas, The PLO, they are all evil men. Evil men conquer when good men do nothing, and when those good men do nothing they cease being good.
Would you rather fight this war in our own nation? That is the alternative if we leave. They will not stop! They will attack again and again and again, because they HATE us! Can’t you see that is if we tuck our tail between our legs and run home, the world will perceive us as being a weak nation, a country that can easily be over run? It’s all about how the Muslim world preserves us, it’s not about facts. These people deign the holocaust even happened, they teach that to their children. Then when presented with the truth they praise Hitler as a great man and for trying to exterminate an entire race of people. Listen to what the Muslims are saying. They want nothing more than to drive Israel and the Jews into the sea. They hate the Jews because they are Jews. They hate the United States, the great Satan, because we support the Jews.
Here is the bottom line, if we leave Iraq, “redeploy our troops,” then congress and the media will have defeated the mighty military of the United States, rendering useless for any future use. The rest of the world will look at the United States and no longer see a Superpower only a nation prime for the picking. They will attack on our soil, killing innocent men, women and children. They will attack us in the most inhumane ways possible and will not stop until all the Jews are gone and Islam is the only religion on earth. You think I’m wrong? Study the history of Islam and prove me wrong.

2006-11-16T18:24:00.000+03:00

The General of the Central Command in charge of Iraq pointed that we could have done better after taking Baghdad to begin with. I agree. He also said one thing that I must echo. Every time he goes to sit before Congress in Washington D.C. he feels despair. He was taken to task by two soon two be Presidential candidates, Senators McCain and Hillary Clinton. They both say that the status quo here in Iraq could not continue and that the status quo was what votes voted against. I would like to point out that neither one have come to Iraq to see what is that we do here nor have either one of them come up with a solid strategy that is going to help us.
I have an idea that I think will go along way in helping us cut down on the sectarian violence. I must say that this idea is not my own, I have spoken with some of the Iraqis that I work with and this is what they have made a suggestion.
One thing that can be done is to move the Iraqi police and Army out of where they live. If a soldier or police officer lives in Baghdad send them either north or south and bring those who do not live in Baghdad to Baghdad. Also we need to press the government to disband the militias, especially the militants in Sadr City.
Now in order for you to understand the logic behind this plan you must understand that the Iraqi people are very tribal and put family and tribe ahead of everything. For example, if my cousin or relative is placing road side bombs or shooting mortar rounds at area bases, I will not turn them in even if I am an IA or IP, because they are family. That’s how it works here. That is why this is such a tough and difficult fight.
If congress does a “phase redeployment” Al Qaeda in Iraq, which is already claiming victory because of how the election turned out, will claim that they single handedly drove out the American “occupying forces.” This would do great damage to the United States in the Middle East Region because perception is everything. We will be perceived as weak, and no one will respect the United States military if Congress goes ahead and throws in the towel. My suggestion to all of you in Congress, let the Generals who have more time at lead troops in battle than you do run this war. They have eyes on what is going on over here and they have the will, as do we all, to win this fight, not just tuck tail and run.

Thoughts for Election Day

2006-11-07T08:17:00.000+03:00

I’ve almost quite reading the news paper over here because I am sick and tired of politicians and the news media telling everyone how terrible it is over here, how the administration is on the brink of losing this war all the while you offer up no real solutions. You say you have them but you never tell us what they are. If the only plan you can muster is firing Mr. Rumsfeld come up with a new plan because President Bush isn’t going to. The only other plan I have heard is that if and when the Democrats take back control of Congress they are no longer going to fund the war. Hey that makes sense; punish the troops by not giving them the funding they need to fight the war. That sure will teach President Bush. Then more of those people who “didn’t study hard” that are “stuck in Iraq” will die. Is that really your plan? This war should not be a political hot button issue for the elections being held today back in the United States today. As I said before give us a solid no nonsense plan.
I would also like to expand on something things I think people fail to realize. Winning a war especially a war when the enemy does not wear a uniform and hides amongst civilians takes time to win. They cost money to pay people to get the job done. We soldiers are sacrificing time away from our families our friends, putting our careers on hold. It is the soldier not the politician that is the one who dies over here so don’t you dare sit back there in comfy chair and pretend you care. If you did, you would encourage your children to enlist and help not threaten to cut funding and putting the soldiers over here at greater risk.
The thing some people fail to realize is that we are rebuilding a nation and that too takes time, money, and other resources. That is what we are doing right now, trying to help the Iraqis rebuild their nation from the ground up. We are assisting them in rebuilding their government, their army and police forces, their economy, their infrastructure, bridges, roads, schools, hospitals, the list goes on and on. No nations, including Iraq, or Babylon as it was known thousands of years ago, has ever been good at nation building. Most of the time a nation was conquered, its spoils carried off by the victor and its defeated people were either carried off into slavery or killed on the spot. Times have changed and we are in a tough spot right now. Right now we have about 140,000 troops here in Iraq. Do we need more troops? Maybe, but what we really need is a solid plan on how we are going to assist this nation rebuild its self and a willingness to let the soldiers finish the job we started. It doesn’t matter if you think this war is legitimate or not, the fact is we are here now. We must finish what we started, we soldiers know how we can win this war, so stop arguing give us a plan and we will execute it. That’s what we do, complete the mission we are tasked to do.

What the guys think of Kerry

2006-11-03T05:56:00.000+03:00

Josh asked me to post links to the "Desert Bull" pictures.

Pick your media outlet
Shot in the Dark
Powerline
New York Post

In 5 games, as predicted

2006-10-28T06:36:00.000+03:00

As I told a few people my Saint Louis Cardinals are the 2006 World Champions of baseball!
Congrats boys!
It was a long hard season and a very sweet 5 game seriesthat ended as it should in St Louis.
What a great thing playing 3 games at home, instead of 2 had the NL won home field advantage at the All-Star game.
Go crazy folks!!
Go crazy!

Why?

2006-10-07T02:55:00.000+03:00

I have been an Oakland A's fan since 1987 and fr the first time EVER I am sad they one. Why because I decided that I was going to root for the Twins. I have become a huge fan of the Twins since I moved to the Twin Cities in 1999. They have progressed into one of the greatest franchaises in baseball. They build their club using a rather low budget and rely mainly on their farm clubs to develop their players to be able to compete in the majors. They due a fantastic job. However, I grew up a Mark McGwire and A's fan. I must say that NEVER again will I root for the Twins when the A's (or my favorite team, the St. Louis Cardinals) are involved. Sorry Lizzie. I must address one final thing and that is Brad Radke. I admire a man who plays his entire career for one team. It is a rarity in sports these days for anyone to stay with one team. I wish more players, not to mention owners, would be faithful to the fans as well as the team. Thank you Brad for all of the memories, good or bad, that you have left us. You are truly one of the greatest of the game.
By the way Mandy, its on next year. Hats, ties and all. Long live the white elephant of baseball. Go A's! Oh and Liz, Mandy, how do you like my 3rd baseman now?

Future American Leaders

2006-09-07T07:47:00.000+04:00

The LA Times ran an op-ed piece that I think is worthy of your time. http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-kaplan24dec24,0,1795116.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions
I totaly agree with the writter. I can also see a time when the policy makers in Washington DC actually care about what the vast majority of Americans want. Right now I as watch and read the news from back home I see billions of dollars being wasted and nothing getting done by congress. I'm tired of the name calling fro both side. We need to strengthen or borders, take control of immigration and track the guest workers. No business could servive if it was run the way our elected officals are running this country. It would fail.
I'm also quit tired of the media and others tell us what a failure Iraq is, how its on the brink of civil war, and how Iraq is not important to the gobal war on terrorism. Iraq is vital to the war on terror. My question to all of the negh sayers is when was the last time you came over here and saw for yourself what we are doing? You can't possibly know the good we are doing when you dont bother to investigate it. Yes soldiers are dying here, but how many die in motorcycle or auto accidents every year.
This nation, Iraq, is worth fighting for. Wouldn't it be nice if we finally had Iraq as an ally and through this ally we could deal better with Iran, Syria, Jordan, Afganistan? Or would it be better to pull out and let Iraq be rebuilt by people who hate America and will stop at nothing to see our Nation fall?

Reasoning With Evil Men?

2006-08-21T19:39:00.000+04:00

18 August

I was watching the Beltway Boys on Fox News and they flashed the results from a poll that was conducted. The pole said that roughly 60% of those poles thought we needed to pull our troops out of Iraq by years end or sooner. Only 33% of those polled said we need to remain in Iraq until the Iraqis are ready for us to leave. I agree that we need to stay here until the Iraqi government and its army can take control and stop the spread of sectarian violence on their own.

I believe this because, unlike those polled, I’m in Iraq and I have asked an Iraqi friend what needs to happen in order to avoid a civil war and put an end to the sectarian violence. He said a strong Iraqi government and military is the only way to avoid a civil war. Iraqis feel safe with a strong government and military, neither of which they have right now.

We cannot “cut and run!” If we do then we will show the terrorists that Americans are weak and all they have to do is “stay the course” and they will win. I want to remind everyone that on September 11th 2001, we were attacked by Muslim extremists that would not have been stopped by diplomacy. If diplomacy with terrorists is the answer the why is Israel being engaged by Hezbollah, a Muslin terrorist group. Why isn’t the United Nations the best and most successful organization in the world at stopping terrorism? It’s because diplomacy with terrorists and evil men in general does not work. Diplomacy did not work with Hitler and the Nazis and it will not work with Islamic terrorist. Sometimes evil men cannot be reasoned with.

To Hot For Coffee?

2006-08-21T19:38:00.000+04:00

16 August

Today a question crossed my mind while I stood at the coffee shop and waited for my Spiced Chi’ Latté, is it ever to hot to enjoy a cup of HOT coffee? I know this is not usually a thought one usually contemplates while at war but no matter. Though this is not going to help end the war here in Iraq, it is a question that must be wrestled with. Growing up I enjoyed coffee at an early age, usually sipping it off a spoon from my mothers’ coffee cup. (To answer the two questions you are now asking yourself, Yes coffee did stunt my growth I should be between 6’7 and 7’1 instead of just 6’1. Also it’s never to early to start your kids drinking coffee. The young they start the better I say. Yes that is sarcasm).

Growing up I drank my fair share of coffee and in high school, I would go to Perkins resturaunt for hours on end to sit and drink coffee while write poetry or do other homework. In the military, I would drink a cup after Physical Training (PT). And was known to down a pot throughout the day. In college, I tried to substitute coffee for sleep, but that only worked for about a week. When I became a manager of a convenient store, aka gas station, I had to have at least one cup a day. My dad is an avid coffee drinker and I doubt he goes a single day without a cup of coffee. My wife and mom however, drink tea. (and your point here is…)

The reason I wondered if it was ever to hot for coffee is because where I’m at in Iraq it was 118 degrees in the shade, with a wind chill factor of 120-125. Yet here I am enjoying, yes enjoying, a very hot cup of coffee. So this begs the question when is it too hot to drink coffee, or is it ever to hot for a good cup of coffee? One thing is for certain, over here I never have to worry about my coffee getting cold.

I’m No Hero

2006-08-21T19:34:00.000+04:00

15 August

In a few months I will be going home on leave and some time next year I will leave Iraq a “combat veteran,” I do not see myself as a hero. In World War II, Vietnam, and Korea soldiers fought long battles for days on end. They slept in the same trenches or foxholes they fought in, if they slept at all. They went days without hot showers and a warm bed. They marched straight into hell and many never marched out. The one common thing I share with them is that I am deployed half way around the world, fighting for the freedoms of another country, and people.
The reason I don’t consider myself a hero is because I have it so much easier than they did. I eat three hot meals a day, sleep in an air conditioned building, work out in the gym five days a week, use the pool, movie theater, and if I get tired of the chow hall I can eat at BK, Subway, Pizza Hut, or grab a cup of coffee at the coffee shop. There are internet cafes and phone centers I can use, daily. My missions are different from the men who fought before me, but I have more luxuries than any of them.
This war is very different then any the United States has ever fought. The enemy does not wear a uniform, which makes it easier for them to go unnoticed. The insurgents use roadside bombs and mortar or bases and they are constantly changing their tactics, and we change ours as well. As a side note the enemy will not be defeated through negotiations nor will negotiations win this war. If you don’t believe me ask Israel how well negotiations have worked in fighting Hezbollah.
This war is a long fight in which we cannot “cut and run,” and leave the Iraqi people to face a civil war. Yes over 2600 troops have died, one of which was my brothers best friend, however I believe we are winning the war, despite what the news media would have you to believe. I have talked to some Iraqis who want us here. Unlike many in the U.S they think President Bush is doing a good job and was correct in removing Saddam. Iraq must have a strong government and military in order to avoid an all out civil war. We need to continue to help the Iraqis and build up their military and finish the job.

Changes

2006-08-02T11:33:00.000+04:00

I see that it has been a very long time since I have updated my blog so I will try to this in about 30 minutes. I drew Computer lab duty today and am very happy for it as I was able to finish some things up, chat with Liz, and two of my friends from college, Scottie and Trey. Scottie has a blog sit that I encourage you to check out. I hope you enjoy it.

Let's see, as for me, there have been a few changes. I decided to let the hair on the top of my head grow out a little. Instead of a quarter of an inch on top I have almost a full two inches, which is the maximum length of hair in the military. I think it makes me look a bit better, or more human anyway. Speaking of looks, I have been hitting the gym 4 times a week for the last month. I have started to lose weight again and I am getting stronger, physically. I am also trying to get enrolled in the Chaplain's assistiant course and get the first phase completed while I am over here.

One other change to mention is our change in mission. We have had a relitively safe mission since we arrived in Iraq but we nave begun doing patrols, which is a little more dangerous, but we get to see more of the areas outside our base and interact with more of the people of Iraq. This gives the unit we are taking over for a chance to take a break and catch there breath, so to speak. I'm looking forward to this because it will give us a sence of actually being involved in helping put an end to the conflicts in our area. I know what we do will not bring an end to the war entirly but maybe we can help make the villages and towns around us safer and more friendly towards the U.S.

Who knows.

I hate to keep it that brief and short but my time is nearly up. take care all and I hope to update this more often.

What kind of "soul" our you

2006-05-28T12:04:00.000+04:00

Usually I am not one to do things like this but I was reading Liz's blog and figured that I should find out what kind of sould she married here is the result and I actually agree with it. I think it describes me well

You Are a Dreaming Soul

Your vivid emotions and imagination takes you away from this worldSo much so that you tend to live in your head most of the timeYou have great dreams and ambitions that could be the envy of all...But for you, following through with your dreams is a bit difficult
You are charming, endearing, and people tend to love you.Forgiving and tolerant, you see the world through rose colored glasses.Underneath it all, you have a ton of passion that you hide from others.Always hopeful, you tend to expect positive outcomes in your life.
Souls you are most compatible with: Newborn Soul, Prophet Soul, and Traveler Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofsoulareyouquiz/">What Kind of Soul Are You?>

Thats When Country Comes To Town

2006-05-28T11:24:00.000+04:00

No! I didn’t abandoned this blog. I just have not sat down for sometime to write a blog. I also wanted to make sure that I was not compromising the security of my unit, my family and myself. I have found out what I can and cannot say and after looking at my unit website, I know where the lines have been drawn and what I can tell you.
I am near Balad, Iraq, which is north of Baghdad and south of Samarra. The Logistics Support Administration (LSA for short) I am at is quite big. It is an old Iraqi air base that the United States took control of in 2003 just after the fall of Baghdad.
The base that we are on is very nice. It has five huge chow halls that serve some wonderful food. For breakfast, they serve huge omelets. Every evening has its own theme. For example, Thursday is “Surf & Turf” night, my favorite night, when we are served steak and seafood! If you don’t care for the featured theme, like last night you can grab a burger, hot dog or grilled cheese sandwich from the short order line or help your self to the sandwich bar, pasta/potato bar, the fruit stand, the soup & salad bar. In addition, no chow hall would be complete without a desert bar. No if you don’t feel like chow hall food, which sometime you don’t there’s also a Burger King, Pizza Hut, Subway a Popeye’s Chicken and a Baskin Robbins on base. I know you will all sleep better knowing that I am well fed.
The LSA also has two rally nice gym where we can lift weights, play basketball, racquet There is also a softball league, which we arrived to late to join and two nights a week the almost all the guys in my platoon play floor hockey. By the gym is an outdoor pool with a couple of diving boards where we can go to cool off now that the temperature is firmly in the 100 degree range daily, and its only going to get hotter. Not far from the gym is the post theater that shows two or three films daily.
In addition, the MWR (Moral, Welfare, and Recreation) center is spectacular. One room has some pool tables, dartboards, ping-pong and foosball tables as well as a place to check out board games. They also hold a variety of weekly tournaments. There is also a computer lab and phone center, a couple of music rooms, where one can learn to

How Jill Carroll will continue to assist the terrorist

2006-04-03T15:34:00.000+04:00

Its not often that I get to sit by a TV and watch much of anything these days. I try to keep up with the news via Stars & Stripes, the military newspaper, as well as the internet. I read a little bit of the Boston Globe article on Jill Carroll and I am glad she was released. Here's my problem. Jill Carroll made a propagandist video that will be played on Arab TV to further vilify the United States. It doesn't matter when she got back to the US, where it was safe, that she denounced what she did. What she did was wrong and it will be used to justify the actions of the terrorist. She made this video in exchange for her freedom.
Before any United States soldier goes to a foreign nation we sit through a class on how to react if/when we are captured. I don't know if the department of defense has a mandate that all journalists go through the same briefing, but they need to. In the briefing we are told that all we are to tell our captors is or name, rank, social security number. That's it! We are told not to make any statements against the United States or the military. Why because if we do what Miss Carroll did it could very well cost our fellows brothers in arms their lives.
This tape she made will be used to recruit new terrorist. By her making this tape she puts herself in to the same rank and file and Cindy Sheehan. In the eyes of the Arab world there is no difference between the two women, NONE!
I hope in the future journalist will mind what they say and realize that everything they say, as well as anything a hostage says on video can and will be used to undermine the United States mission in Iraq, Afghanistan. Think before you speak!
As a Christian, here is a question I pose to you, When the persicution come for being a Christian will deign God for your freedom? Or will you be like Abdul Rahman, the Afghan Christian who refused refused to recant of being a Christian to the whole world and go back to being a Muslim? Each one of their lives hung in the balance one dishonored her country the other refused to dishonor his God.

Greetings from Kuwait

2006-03-31T15:56:00.000+03:00

Greetings from Kuwait where the camels ans sheep do roam. (I've seen
them). We have been doing some training and we are still trying to get use to 80 degrees at 7AM and a very bright sun. I really like seeing the sun rises here. They are very wonderful to look at. Of course at 5:30 in the morning thats about all there is to see on the way to breakfast. Also if you don't wear sunglass here you simply don't see.
It also rained here, which I didn't expect. Some neat (and not so neat) things that have happened while we have been here. While at a range to shoot our weapons we saw a heard of camels. I took a picture but it didn't turn out very good so I will have to get some pics from some of the other guys. We also saw a heard of sheep on the way back from the range.
Our sergeant wasn't please that some of us, myself included, didn't make it on the same firing order he was on so he "grounded" us to the tent the other night. That was actually good because a wicked sandstorm, one thing that I did expect to see, blew through when we would have been out. We cracked the door (yes our tent has doors, not flaps. It has AC too.) to see how bad it was and all we could see was sand. We couldn't see ten feet down the way to the other tent. It was like a blizzard of sand. It also rained very hard after the sandstorm subsided. It was hard to tell when one ended and the other started.
The base we are at is a lot nice. I expected, which was a lot of sand, some crappy tents, and not much else. I was very surprised. There is a
huge gym, some basketball courts, vollyball courts and three chow halls. One
is open from midnight to 3AM incase you didn't get stuffed like a king the
other three meals. The food is as good as it was on active duty only there
is more of it to eat.
There are three Post Exchanges(like a Target geared towards the military), two coffee shops and a few fast food joints.
There are alot of phones and I have talked to my love a few times since I got here. I learned that using calling cards instead of my credit card was a lot chaeper. Expensive lesson learned.
There are also a few internet cafe's which are all independent. What I mean
is that the card I buy from one place can not be used at any other cafe. I
didn't realize that I had purchased over three hundred minutes of internet time. Good thing I have so many emails to write.
I also lost a fight with my ipod the other day. I ended up deleting some of the sermons by James McDonald I listen to. I was getting frustrated with my ipod because it erased its self and it would not upload wheat I wanted it too. (all of which are operator errors. Stupid ipod). Lesson learned - don't go happy with the delete button.
Have any of you ever listened to The Stand To Reason radio show hosted by Greg Kokal's? (www.str.org) I downloaded six "podcasts" for my ipod, they are just archived shows. I listened to one the other night and he was talking about visions and miraculous healings that are happening in China, Africa and in other Muslim nations. People are coming to faith in Christ by these different miracals and visions. If you get a chance to listen to an archived show it was Good Question Bad Answer from Febuary. It was in the later hour of the show.
Well I better get going as I have to check in every two hours for accountability and to make sure no one wanders to far off in the desert.
Talk to you soon. Hopefully I can update you more often on how things are going for me.

A soldiers' spoil

2006-03-18T23:26:00.000+03:00

Its been awhile but I am back with a new update. I spent the better part of Febuary in Lousiania training. When I got back to Mississippi, I found that I could no longer blog on a military computer. I come to you from Portofino Resort, on the 19th floor looking down at the Gulf of Mexico in Pensacola Beach, Florida. I just got back from my massage and facial at this nice slice of heaven.
Liz and I are here to enjoy my four day pass before going to Iraq. It is so beautiful here and its a great time to forget about everything that stands before me. Please continue to pray for me and my fellow soldiers as we go to Iraq. Usually I have more to say but I'm working on my tanand this laptop is blocking my sun. I will let you all now how I am when I get to where I am going.
Later boys and girls

Reflections

2006-01-25T21:12:00.000+03:00

I have a little time to write today and I saw something that made me happy. I read that NBC cancelled "The Book Of Daniel" show. The show's main character, Daniel Webster, is a drug-addicted Episcopal priest who regularly speaks with an unconventional, white-robed Jesus. Webster's family includes a homosexual Republican son; a drug-dealing daughter; and an adopted son who is sleeping with the bishop's daughter. I'm glad they cancelled it.
I know that there is trouble in every Christian home but to portray a pastor and his family like this steps so far over the bounds of decency it's not funny. This is just another low down shot at Christians. The networks would never dream of lambasting a Muslim Cleric and his family this way, so why the constint attack on Christians? I think it is because they have done it for so long that Christians have become apathetic. The American Family Association (AFA) called for a boycott of the "anti-Christian program,"but where is the outrage about shows like Will & Grace or Queer Eye For the Straight Guy?
Next question and a more important one is why aren't we Christians not knocking down the doors of the networks with TV show and movie ideas. We need to step up and be writters of decent sitcoms or dramas. We don't need to jam Jesus down the throat of everyone but at the same time we can't sit by and let them jam Jesus in the mud. It's time to take a stand! It really is.

Home for Christmas

2006-01-25T21:10:00.000+03:00

"I'lll be home for Christmas...
But it wasn’t in my dreams. It's the 3rd of January and was able to get a break from training to spend Christmas and New Years at home this year. I had a great time with my wife and I was also a groomsman in a friend’s wedding. The last two weeks have been such a wonderful time. I will be able to see my wife again before I go to the sandbox which is also good.
I am happy to tell you that I got a laptop for Christmas so I can now update my blog more often that I have been. It’s been hard to find time to get to the computer lab down here.
I have been blessed by God and by so many people in the last two weeks. On the way home I got stuck in Atlanta for six hours after our flight got canceled. In that time I spoke with many people and was encouraged by so many. Don’t underestimate the power of saying thank you to a service member is. I had one retired Marine buy my coffee, I was given a small memory card that plugs into the a USB port of my computer by another gentleman. I also few home from Atlanta in first class because the woman who used my cell phone to call home gave up her seat for a later flight. The man I sat next to on the way home gave me $40.00 and told me to take my wife out to dinner on him. I have been blessed so much. God is good.
Our youth group raised $130 so my wife and I could spend a nice romantic evening out on them. I was also surprised to receive my reenlistment bonus just before Christmas to help pay some of bills.
Even today I have been blessed as another man gave up his seat, again in first class, so I could sit here. Thank you all for what you done for me. Praise God above all. Well its time to stow my laptop for landing so I best sign off.
*Note This was written on 3 January 2006. I was unable to post it until today because of trouble finding internet access and I also spent the 8th-18 in the field training.

Desk Duty

2005-12-12T20:47:00.000+03:00

I was assigned to a different company the day after Thanksgiving and I today is the first day I have not participated in training with them. I don't fit in with them and have had problems with different individuals since I got their. I was also told for the first week that until orders sent me to them that I should not be training with them. I finally got orders the day after Thanksgiving sending me to them. Today they get to do some of the training I did last month and I get to sit in the office and "hold down the fort" so to speak.
Speaking of Thanksgiving, I spent the day with a fantastic Christian family here in Mississippi. They invited my friend & me into their home to share the meal. They "deep fat fried" their turkey, which I had never seen done, and they had like twenty different dishes. It was all so good and hey had a ten different types of pies a couple of cakes, and some cinnamon rolls. I am so very thankful to them for such a wonderful day. They showed us some of the damage they sustained from the hurricane. On happy note they have a little pond that they let us do a little fishing. No I did not catch anything but as the saying goes "A few hours of bad fishing is still better than time spent in the barracks .
Christmas is still up in the air. What I will be doing is still unknown. I would like to share more but my time is up so for now I must close.
Please continue to pray for us and our families while we are away from them protecting this great nation! If I don't get a chance to post again before then Merry Christmas everybody!

What Are You Thankful For?

2005-11-23T21:00:00.000+03:00

At this time when people all over this nation gather together to eat a bunch of food. Then they eat some more, have some pie, loosen the belt, watch some football and grab a nap. Some of us in the military will spend the day with those we don't even know because they have invited us into their homes to spend Thanksgiving with them. What are you thankful for?
I am so thankful for my family. I am thankful for all of you who are praying for me and my wife. I am thankful that even tho I am away from my family for two years and will be missing holiday's and other special days I know I am going to help a nation that doesn't know what it means to be free.
I am thankful most to God, who sent His Son, Jesus, to die for my sins. The Bible says that there is no other name by which man can be saved but thru Jesus Christ. There is nothing that I can do, nor you can do, to save ourselves. John tells us Jesus came not to condem the world but to save it (John 3:17).
When you gather with friends or family or people that you don't even know, thank God for them. Thank God for keeping the soldiers safe. Thank him for sending his Son for the forgiveness of our sins. Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, his love endures forever.
Thank you again to all of you.

A cure for a stuffy nose

2005-11-03T05:15:00.000+03:00

The last couple of weeks have been busy. The last two days I have done common tasks training (CTT). These are things that are drilled into your head from day one of basic training. These are refreshers and nothing new at all.
Some of the refreshers were NBC) nuclear Biological Chemical) training. I enjoyed these sessions the most as I had been the NBC NCO (sergeant) at my last unit. I was introduced to the new chemical suit that is now being used as well as the drinking tube in my protective mask. The new suits are very nice and no longer leave a charcoal residue on you when you wear them. The drinking tube is placed at the side of the mouth instead of in the front of your mouth. I was also a re-introduced to the gas chamber.
The gas chamber is where a soldier goes to perform a confidence check with his chemical mask. The gas chamber is filled with CS gas and you go into the chamber, do some exercises and ensure your mask has a good seal. This way you know that your mask will be protected in the event of a chemical attack. You also must break the seal and re-seal the mask. In doing so you ALWAYS get a taste of the CS.
I have not been in a gas chamber since I stumbled into one at Fort Bragg in 1996 or 1997. I forgot how it tastes and how it burns. I also forgot that 30 -40 feet away from the exit is not the correct place to volunteer to take off your mask and walk out of the chamber. That doesn't seem all that far but when you inhale right by where the CS is burning it feels more like a couple of miles.
Walking out of the gas chamber wasn't all that bad, it was the oxygen hitting my face that was terrible. My eyes burned, my face burned, snotty was running out of my nose, and I was gagging. I did remember the one DO NOT touch or wipe your eyes when you get out of the chamber, it only makes it worse.
So I am outside trying to regain vision and "the challenge" is taking place. The challenge is a bunch of other wise intelligent guys standing in the gas chamber with no mask seeing who can last the longest. (Insert favorite infantry joke here) Much to everyone's displeasure the instructors called time and ruined eveyones fun. Grunts, you just can't take them anywhere.
On the bright side, I am able to breath through my nose for the first time since the first this spring. I have found the cure to a stuffy nose!

Finally a day off!!!

2005-10-22T01:41:00.000+03:00

What a great a day! Today is our Company's drinking party where we get to where civilian clothes(YEA!!!!!) to eat steak and drink beer. Now I'm all about the steak but not so much on the beer. While everyone is drinking and having a "good" time, I have escaped to the computer lab where it is quite and I can use the internet. So few people are here and I can blog for a bit. The party started at 1500 and will end around 2200. Did I mention the catch. Tomorrow we have wake up at 0530 and a company run at 0600. Nothing like paying for a good hang over! I also get to go to "cultural awareness training" tomorrow to learn the dos and donts while I am in Iraq. This could prove to be "interesting" to say the least.
Sunday will be my first official day off since I got to Mississippi. One entire day to myself to recover from the last three weeks. I'm looking forward to it, especially since I got the smallpox shot and the first of many Anthrax shots. I arm is knotted up from the Anthrax shot.
I want to thank you all for your prayers for me and my unit. I do have a couple of prayer requests. Last week one of the guys in my squad asked if I was a "religious guy" I said yes and he said "well by the end of this deployment you won't be!" Please pray for me to stay strong and keep the faith. Also please pray that I will be able to have time every day to read my Bible and pray. Also pray for him that I may be able to witness to him somehow.
Time for me to go do some surfing and reading all about the demise of my beloved Cardinals.

Long Days and Longer Nights.

2005-10-19T01:44:00.000+03:00

Well I arrived to prep for being deployed. I have removed some information for safty perposes. Sorry.

It's official! I'm going!

2005-09-19T11:54:00.000+04:00

Last weekend was the last weekend that Liz and I had to spend alone. We went to a nice Bed & Breakfast up in Duluth, and enjoyed spending time together. We didn't do a whole lot which was just fantastic. We stopped at a flea market and picked up some stuff and rode a train up the coast of Lake Superior. It was a relaxing weekend.
This weekend was not relaxing. Saturday my unit went thru something called an SPR (I have no idea what it stands for). It started at O'dark early and it consisted of ensuring that our finances, Wills, Powers of Attorney were in place and that we were medically good to go. We also received the equipment and clothing we needed or that needed to be exchanged. I finally received gear however I was not issued any uniforms as they were out in my size. I am going to have to buy some as I only have one uniform that almost fits me.
This week should be a lot of fun as I have many members of my family that will be coming to a going away party. I also get to do the "Large Group talk" for my youth group next Sunday. I am going to be talking about being called to serve and putting on the full armor of God. I may even publish the transcript of my talk on the site here. Anyway I have so many other things to do so I will post this for all of you to read. See some of you soon. Go Cardinals!!
!!

2005-09-11T23:35:00.000+04:00

Happy Birthday Lizzie
I love You

2005-09-11T22:06:00.000+04:00

Sorry about the lack of posts over the last two weeks. On the first Liz and I flew into Dallas and spent the evening with a friend of mine from high school. We were able to catch up on how each others families are doing as well as reminisce a bit. On the second, Liz & I drove from Dallas to Houston to see our sisters, Becky and Sam (inside joke will be explained in a later post). We learned that Texas is GREEN! I always pictured a lot of dusty oil fields and some cotton farms but never guessed Texas was green and beautiful. We also learned that the U2 song “Where The Streets Have No Names” was written about the city of Houston.
When we made it to Houston we were very relieved to find out that we still had a hotel room. We were told before we flew down that the hotel would be calling people to cancel reservations to accommodate Hurricane Katrina victims. I would say that more than half of the people in our hotel were from Louisiana. I was nice to see how many different things this hotel did for them.
Saturday, the third, Becky and Sam took Liz and I to the Kennedy Space Center. We had a lot of fun and I learned a lot of things I didn't know about NASA and life as an astronaut. Then we went to Minute Maid Park to witness St Louis Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter face off with Roger Clemens and the Houston Astros. I have been looking forward to this since Liz bought the tickets back in February. {Liz looked for tickets in St Louis, Chicago and anywhere else she could but tickets had yet to go on sale. Oh well! It worked out better this way anyway.} We had great seat in the club level (second deck) on the third base side. Clemens went five innings, gave up 2 runs off 4 hit struck out 2 batters and threw a wild pitch. He was lifted for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the 5th because he pulled a hamstring. It was too bad too because it was a close game, and a great game because Carpenter pitched a complete game to pick up his 19th victory with the 4-2 victory.
My favorite part of the game was in the top of the 7th. I decided to go get some ice cream, cotton candy, and a bottle of root beer. The stand I was at was behind home plate so of course I got my stuff and stepped inside the glass door that separates the field from the concession area. So the Cardinals 2nd baseman was with two out and a guy on second. He hit the ball out to center and everyone in the section was cheering until the center fielder dove for the ball and missed it. Then only I was cheering as the Cardinals scored the go ahead run. This woman, who was with her husband and two kids, stood up turned around and glared at me. "You get out of here" she said as snotty as she could. The security guard noticing that I had the wrong colors on asked me if my seat was in the section. I told him no, I just wanted to see how the inning ended. He asked my to either return to my seat or to stand behind the glass as I was being disruptive. He kicked me out the his section! I thought it was great because this had never been done in any stadium I have ever been in. So I returned to my seat as the Astros intentionally walked Pujols. Oh to be a Cardinals in Houston.
Becky, who works for the Houston symphony, picked up tickets for the four of us to see the "Divas of Broadway" show on Sunday. I knew very few of the pieces that were preformed but it was entertaining, and I enjoyed it.
We flew back to Minnesota on Labor Day and we spent this weekend at a wonderful Bed and Breakfast in Duluth for Liz's birthday. More about that in my next post as I need to end so I can take my wonderful wife out to dinner. Happy Birthday Lizzie. :) I love you

2005-09-01T08:07:00.000+04:00

Prayer Request for thoes in Lousiania, Mississippi, Alabama, & Flordia

As you all know hurricane Katrinia has devistated New Orleans, as well as many other places in the above mentioned states. My friend from college, Scotty Williams, is from Orleans & has family and friends that have been effective by this disaster. Please pray for him, his faily, friends and everyone else effected.

2005-08-30T09:33:00.000+04:00

A "Fair" Day

Ahhh! The fun of attending "The Great Minnesota Get Together." Warriors of every shape and size convirge to battle for walking area in pusute of tastey treasures "on a stick." For those of you who are not familiar with the ritual of the Minnesota State Fair, every year the entire state of Minnesota half of Wisconsin, Canada and even South Dakota come to Saint Paul, Minnesota to enjoy everything from a deep fried candy bar and Chocolate covered Key Lime Pie to Alligator or speggetti and Meatballs on a stick. Yes you did read that right. A STICK!! I tried the alligator on a stick, which tasted more like sauague, and the before mentioned Chocolate Covered Key Lime Pie. Good Stuff!! I also had fries, and some cookies (neither of which come on a stick).
In addition to the food, rides, animals and tons of exhibits, every major radio and TV station broadcasts live from the fair. This gives everyone a chance to see there favorite personalities in person. A group of bloggers that both Liz and I enjoy reading as well as listening to, The Northern Radio Alliance, was broadcasting live. They have lively debate over polictical issues and are very informitive. One of the bloggers, King Banaian from SCSUScholars, was one of Liz's professors when she was in college. We enjoyed seeing Dr. Banaian and the rest of the Northern Alliance (link to come) and I had the honor of being on the air with them. They ask about my upcoming deployment and let both Liz & I shamelessly plug our blogs. What a bunch of great guys.
After the fair Liz and I had dinner with the neighboors down the hall, Paul and Cindy. Paul is a retired Army medic and Cindy knows what it is going to be like for Liz while I am deployed so it was good to get to know then a little before I left. They are Christians too so I know that Liuz will be well taken care of while I am gone.
I am very thankful that we live in Minnesota. Liz's family lives here, we have a great church that will take care of her and we have a network of friends to take be there for Liz while I am away. There is no doubt that God knows exactly what he is doing.

2005-08-16T23:20:00.000+04:00

True Friends
Welcome to my blog. In case you didn't know, about a month ago I decided to reenlist in the National Guard because I missed it. I raised my hand and swore in on a Wednesday and by the next Friday I was told by my unit that I was going to be deployed in October. At this point I don't know when I am leaving I just know that I am.
In the past few weeks I have spoken to a number of you about my upcoming deployment. We have spent time with some of our friends and all have expressed their grief love and shared thier prayers for us. We are blessed to have so many friends that will care for my wife while I am gone. At last count I have over twenty churches that either have begun to pray for me and my unit or will be praying when I do end up going.
However, last night my wife & I spent time with one of my old roommates, Jer, his girlfriend and their four- month old daughter. We went out to eat and as the dinner conversation progressed I noticed that the issue of me being deployed had not been a subject of our conversation. This came as no suprise because when I had told him I was being deployed he said that it was too bad, that his girlfriend had a friend in Iraq and that he did not agree with the war. He then spent an hour whining about how horrible his life is, how terrible it was that two friends would not give him the money he is owed and that one of the guys didn't even want to be his friend anymore.
FYI: Jer was unemployed most of the time I lived with him. He ALWAYS complains about how life is so unfair and how the world owes him. He has been unemployed for two years and he thinks people should come and bang down his door to hire him.
It came as no surprise to me last night when Jer started telling my wife and I that they were unhappy because a Pastor's wife had plastic surgury and that's vain. Then came comments about how he would do a better job in charge of some ministry and questioning why this ministry only had five paid positions. Neither Jer nor his girlfriend has ever made a financial contribution to said ministry. "Well, I give my time," was Jer's response. Then he whined about how unfair Social Service is because they want to know how much money he has in his bank account at all times and they want him to report any money he makes. He complained about the selection of frames they had to pick from and that he couldn't get scratch resistant lens for the FREE glasses he and his girlfriend were getting because they are on WELFARE! He is lazy and won't swallow his pride to get a job to support his own family. Instead he would rather have others support him because his life is so hard.
That reminded me of what someone at my unit said. "Don't be suprised when you stop talking to some of your old friends." This deployment will teach me the value of all of my friends. I know who my true friends are and I value each one of you.